Side Stories of the Ice
by Mathais
Summary: One of Jamie's stories has reached its end, but time continues onward. Side stories to Through the Ice We Grow. Gen.


Story Title: Side Stories of the Ice

Chapter Title: Tying Up Loose Ends

Series Title: Through the Ice We Grow

Author: Mathais

Rating: T

Fandom: Rise of the Guardians, Persona

Warnings: None

Pairings: None

Summary: Even after their victory, there are some loose ends they have to tie up.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and elements of Rise of the Guardians or the Persona series.

**OoOoO**

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

It was with a sense of finality that they entered the Velvet Room, home to most of their major allies for the past year. All seven of them were present, a rarity when it came to this place. The Velvet Room seemed far too solemn for casual gatherings, so by the time they came, it was only to alter their Personas' skills or seek what advice Igor could impart.

On the other hand, despite being a mere observer, Igor helped them so much.

"Hello, my guests." Igor looked at them with a warm gaze. "Congratulations on the successful culmination of your journey. Though it has been fraught with danger, you never gave up in the face of overwhelming ice."

"Thank you for your help, Igor," Jamie said.

"No, thank you for allowing me to watch over your marvelous journey. I daresay your group has been among the best guests that this room has ever overseen. It was a brilliant display of human potential in the face of adversity."

"We would never have gotten as far as we did without you," Monty said.

"All I did was guide. The choices and the effort have always been yours."

"But effort without direction leaves you spinning in circles, lost in the fog as the ice creeps over you," Pippa countered.

"It's only with meaningful direction that effort can be rewarded," Claude said.

"And that guidance is how we got this far," Caleb said.

"So thank you!" Sophie shouted. "Thank you and everyone in the Velvet Room for your help!"

Igor paused. The songstress and pianist continued their ever-present melodies, but all else was silent. Master beheld guests, guests watched master.

Then, that wrinkled face split into a smile. Slowly, and then with increasing intensity, Igor began to laugh and laugh and laugh. It drew out awkward chuckles from Jamie's group as well, and there they stood, mythical creature and powerful Persona users, laughing at the inanity of it all.

Eventually, Igor's laughs trailed off as he composed himself. "How long did it take you all to practice that?"

"A far amount," Cupcake admitted with a small blush.

"Amusing, very amusing," Igor chuckled once more. "New experiences are always welcome to one such as I. Alas, all experiences must have an end as well."

"We figured as much," Jamie said.

"Yes, you have fulfilled your contract to an extent that has exceeded our expectations. In doing so, our duties have come to a close. We will no longer call you to this room."

"Then, these?" Jamie produced a shining blue key—the Velvet Key that marked him as guests of the Velvet Room and allowed him entrance. The other revealed them as well.

"Those... Oh yes, those..." Igor's face split into another smile. "Those you can keep. Just because our duties are over does not mean that you are no longer welcome in this room. Your journey may have reached its conclusion, but it is not the end of your story. Our paths may even cross again in the future. Know that, should you need our power once more, it will come at your call."

The heat at the back of his eyes was definitely not tears.

"Now, go forth, my former guests, into the future you have won."

Jamie breathed in the crisp winter air once they emerged from the Velvet Room. Jack descended on them in an instant. "You guys all right?"

"We're fine, Jack."

Jack sent a suspicious look in the direction where the Velvet Room's door once stood, though now, even to them, it was empty space. "I still think they're creepy," he said.

Jamie slugged him in the shoulder. "They helped us a lot." Cupcake punched him from the other side to ram the point home.

"They're _old_, you know. Older than any of us."

"I don't think time has much meaning for them." Jamie looked at the key he held in his palm.

The Velvet Room existed in the sea of the unconscious. It was birthed from humanity and molded itself to their needs. Unlike the Guardians, who had their own identities before they became who they were now, Jamie had a feeling that the Velvet Room and its residents were who they always had been.

"Maybe," Jack said dubiously. "Anyway, where to, now?"

"We need to clear out our lockers, don't we?" Cupcake sighed.

Monty groaned. "Where are we going to store everything?"

"Like you have anything to worry about. All you carry are consumables and accessories," Pippa sniped. "I've got like ten pairs of knives!"

"At least you can hide those!" Caleb said, flinging his hands into the air. "My scythes are as big as I am! There's no way in hell I can put those anywhere! Mom and Dad would _flip_ at the sight of them!"

"They are really sharp," Sophie agreed.

"You can at least hide your boomerangs as collector's items," Jamie said. "My staves have freaking gems on them! Mom'll wonder who I robbed to get them!"

"Hey, you never showed me your staff!" Jack broke in as the group descended into petty squabbles. "While it's obviously inferior to mine, we should definitely compare!"

For a moment, the words defend his supremely awesome staff rose up (seriously though, permafrost silver, aquamarine, and evergreen oak made an amazing combination), but he clamped them down and refused to rise to the bait. Instead, Jamie cleared his throat, silencing everyone. "Let's head over there and clean up. We'll figure out what to do... Maybe sell a bunch of our old equipment? We could stockpile the macca..."

They continued to debate as they headed through the yellow door nearby. The first thing they saw when they entered was Trish fixing a sign to her door. She turned at the sound and grinned. "Oh hello, my loyal customers! I'm sorry, but this location of Trish's Supplies is closed for good. Come visit us in our other locations if you wish to make a purchase!"

Puck scoffed as he emerged from his workshop. "There's no way they'd ever visit your shops again, not if they're smart at any rate."

"A merchant has to go where the macca is, and this place is going to dry up soon!" Trish sighed and shook her head. "You know that too!"

"Well, duh!" Puck rolled his eyes. "They just won't be your captive market anymore in the future."

"Don't be that way! Hey Jamie, my best customer! You'll definitely purchase from me again, right?"

Jamie raised his eyebrow. "Not if I can help it."

"Meanie!" Trish stuck out her tongue and tugged her cap down over one eye. "See if I'll ever let you use my springs again!" She then flounced away without another word. Jamie was tempted to call out after her because the medicine and tools she sold had helped immensely, and the healing springs definitely cut down on questions in the light of day, but then Jamie remembered just how much macca they'd forked over to her ever-increasing prices and held his tongue.

During that exchange, Jack had floated over to the new arrival. After a moment of examination, he emitted a noise of surprise. "Puck, is that you?"

Puck squinted and then broke into a grin. "Hey, Jack! Finally made you way back here, huh?"

"...you're the one who's been passing information to Oberon!" Jack exclaimed.

Puck laughed. "You got me. Yeah, I gave him updates."

"Wait, wait," Jamie broke in. "You two know each other?"

Puck grinned and slung an arm around Jack. "We go way back."

"We did some collabs once upon a time," Jack said. "This dude works best in the summer though, and, well, I'm a winter guy."

Caleb snorted. "Understatement of the century there."

"Anyway, we were barred from Burgess while everything was going on. Supernatural politics and all," Jack snorted and waved his hand in dismissal, but Jamie knew it was more serious than Jack let on. After all, he'd have been by their side if he could. "But Tooth managed to trade info with Oberon, the King of Faeries. We couldn't figure out how he got it though. Turns out that it was this dude though," he said and punched Puck in the arm, who replied with the same.

"They're good kids," Puck said.

"Thanks for looking out for them for us," Jack said.

Puck waved it off. "Nah, they didn't need that much help. My crafting skills got so much better out of this deal! And they got me some awesome finds! Man, seriously, do you know how hard it is to get Muspell obsidian?"

"The sword you made me out of that is amazing," Cupcake gushed.

"Well worth it! Anyway, I did my part, but it was all on them. They're fun humans to be around!"

"Still man, we owe you one."

Puck's grin didn't fade. "You're going to regret owing a faerie a favor you know."

Jack shrugged it off and switched topics. "We should catch up some time."

"Yeah, definitely. I was surprised when I heard you became a Guardian of Childhood; we need to get a couple of drinks sometime."

"Let's set up a meeting then."

"Sweet!"

The two bumped fists before Puck turned to them.

"So, the whole team's here. I assume it's for a reason."

"The first thing is, well, thanks for all the help you've given us."

"Like I told Jack, you were my customers. You gave me a crapton of materials to work with! I haven't had so much fun in a long time!"

"Secondly, we're here to pick up our stuff..."

Puck paused. "Why?"

The team looked at each other. Claude spoke first. "Well, we kind of assumed that since the Velvet Room was leaving, you guys would leave too."

"Well, we _are_ leaving." Puck nodded toward the door to Trish's shop, which was now melting back into the wall to leave behind smooth brick. "I'm moving my workshop, but that doesn't mean we have to take the lockers too."

"We're not going to have much macca," Jamie told him.

Puck grinned. "Oh, don't worry about that. Without Trish's and my shops here, rent'll be easily affordable, and the exchange'll still take your money. It's all stipulated in our business contract."

"...I didn't notice that part," Monty said.

"Velvet Room guests are good for business; we have a deal with their patron," Puck said. "Anyway, now that that's squared away..."

"I'm going to show Jack my staff!" Jamie said and then rushed over to the lockers, the rest of his team following him.

They shared stories for the next couple of hours, with Jack and Jamie getting into an argument over their staves that Puck did absolutely nothing to quell. Pippa showed over off dagger collection that actually numbered over a dozen pairs. Sophie enthused over the different weights and balances of her various boomerangs, while Cupcake waved around her jet-black sword veined by red and yellow. Claude tried to dual-wield his whips despite Monty's best efforts to stop him and only succeeded in smacking himself in head. Caleb's scythe collection was a sight to behold, and he and Pippa squabbled over whose was better. Monty just displayed the endless array of accessories and items he gathered and carefully catalogued.

When they left, Jamie looked at the two keys on his chain, blue and yellow side by side, and then back at his still arguing friends.

Jack slung an arm around his shoulder with a grin. "Better than you hoped huh?"

"No contest," Jamie laughed and reciprocated the action.

**OoOoO**

Notes: I don't know... What does happen to your equipment and stuff after the game end? This just nibbled at the back of my head until I vomited it all. This is mainly info dump and could've probably been communicated in note form, but the next short kind of assumes the information in here.


End file.
